Effect of biochar application on rice,wheat,and corn seedlings in hydroponic culture

In recent years,biochar has attracted considerable attention for soil quality improvement and carbon sequestration due to its unique physicochemical properties.However,the mechanism by which biochar application negatively affects the growth of crop seedlings has not been fully investigated.In this study,a hydroponic experiment was conducted to evaluate the response of rice,wheat,and corn seedlings to biochar application(CK,0 g/L;BC1,0.5 g/L;and BC2,1.0 g/L).Compared with the CK treatment,the BC1 and BC2 treatments decreased the fresh shoot and root weights of rice and corn seedlings(P<0.05),but there was no significant effect on wheat seedlings(P>0.05).For the contents of nutrient elements in seedlings,both BC1 and BC2 treatments hindered the roots from absorbing Fe and Cu and increased the uptake of Ca and Mn.Compared with the CK treatment,the translocation factor(TF)values of Ca,Mn,and Zn were significantly decreased especially in rice seedlings(35.3%-36.8%,68.7%-76.5%,and 29.8%-22.0%,respectively)under the BC1 and BC2 treatments,while only Mn was significantly decreased in wheat and corn seedlings(P<0.05).Transmission electron microscope(TEM)analysis of root cross-sections showed that nano-sized biochar particles(10~23 nm)were found in the root cells under BC2 treatment conditions.Our findings reveal that a large amount of biochar application can reduce nutrient absorption and translocation,and hinder rice,wheat,and corn seedlings,particularly rice seedling,in hydroponic system.

Assessing non-point source pollution in an apple-dominant basin and associated best fertilizer management based on SWAT modeling

Investigating the impact of apple-dominated areas on nitrogen(N)and phosphorus(P)losses at a basin scale was essential for the sustainable development of apple industry in China.This study conducted a survey on fertilizer application and built a Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT)model to quantita-tively analyze the N and P losses in the Qixia apple-dominated area.Additionally,the decreases in N and P losses through adjusting the fertilizer application modes were evaluated.Results showed that average N and P losses in the Wulong River Basin(WRB)were 44.4 and 0.365 kg ha^(-1)in 2011-2017,respectively,and apple orchards accounted for 733%and 51.4%of the total N and P losses in the basin.Under nine fertilizer scheduling scenarios,three fertilizer schedule scenarios,automatic fertilizer application(S-AUTO),"one shot"mode(S1),and regulated fertilizer application(S-BSD),had the lowest N and P losses in apple orchards.The decreases in N loss ranged from 20.6%to 26.1%at the subbasin scale and 14.8%-30.7%at the basin outlet when applying the S-AUTO,S1,and S-BSD fertilizer application modes in Qixia apple orchards and all apple orchards in the WRB.The reductions in P loss varied from 22.0%to 46.1%at the subbasin scale and 14.6%-25.6%at the basin outlet.In orchard-dominated basin,N and P losses can be effectively reduced by optimizing the orchard fertilizer scheduling strategies.